File photo of downtown Lethbridge (Lethbridge News Now)

By Justin Goulet

Lethbridge-Medicine Hat with highest unemployment rate in Alberta last month

Jan 8, 2021 | 9:03 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The latest unemployment numbers are out for the province.

In December, the jobless rate in the Lethbridge-Medicine Hat economic region was 10.5 percent. That’s a jump from November’s 9.6 percent. It’s also the highest rate in the province for last month.

Province-wide, the rate came in at 11 percent, down slightly from November’s 11.1 percent.

Below is a breakdown of each economic region in the province:

• Lethbridge-Medicine Hat: 10.5 percent (9.6 in November)
• Edmonton: 10.4 percent (10.6)
• Calgary: 10.1 percent (10.4)
• Camrose-Drumheller: 10.1 percent (11.4)
• Red Deer: 9.6 percent (10.4)
• Banff-Jasper-Rocky Mountain House and Athabasca-Grande Prairie-Peace River: 9.5 percent (10.3)
• Wood Buffalo-Cold Lake: 8.3 percent (8.8)

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More on last month’s unemployment rate in Alberta is available here.

Alberta’s Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation Doug Schweitzer has issued a statement following the release of the numbers.

“While there was a reduction in part-time employment, December’s job numbers demonstrate the resiliency of the Alberta economy with an increase of 30,000 full-time jobs. This happened in the middle of a province-wide shutdown,” he said.

“We know that many small businesses are struggling to stay alive. That is why we tripled the support available to them through our relaunch grant. As of Jan. 7, we have paid out more than $232 million to more than 36,000 small and medium-sized businesses to help them when they need it most. The pandemic is not over but we are hopeful we will soon see restrictions loosened and jobs recovered as we move forward.”

CANADIAN ECONOMY

In December, the Canadian economy lost 63,000 jobs.

READ MORE: Canadian economy lost 63,000 jobs in December, first decline since April

The country’s unemployment rate was 8.6 percent, compared with 8.5 percent in November.

Last month’s job loss figure ended a streak of monthly gains that started in May as COVID-19 restrictions began to ease up slightly.